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I'm not satisfied with an online company that has a 3 day period for electronic downloads. For a company that states that it relies heavily on technology to satisfy their customers, I'm surprised and disappointed. I've purchased electronic downloads from Microsoft and Norton, among others, that sent me the software link with my order information and the license information after my payment cleared all within minutes. That is why I choose electronic downloads at these companies. I've even purchased an electronic copy of Frontpage from a Microsoft product from a reseller and was able to install it within an hour of purchase. If your motivation is customer satisfaction, I recommend spending some resources improving this capability. I did contact customer support by e-mail (no response after a day -- ought to be acknowledged by auto-response and then by real person within an hour) and phone (sat on hold for 20 minutes listening to Jerry Seinfeld standup routines -- should have been told how many people left in front of me).
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
I agree, the service is poor.
I testify that the lousy service continues unabated. I ordered software on Sept. 28. After RE-verifying our already there and valid eligibility, I ordered a second piece of software. Today I find that it has been held us pending eligibility verification! Wait! It's better--when I follow the link to do so, I'm greeted with, "Your eligibility is verified and VALID through June 2012." So why am I waiting 14 days? Because they are unconcerned idiots. (By the way, I had written them a day or two after order to be sure they knew about valid eligibility. Talk to the wind.
One thing for certain with this company, going back reading all reviews, both good and bad, this company has changed radically since right after New Year's.
Indeed it could be a company with workers who have grown lethargic towards their jobs right now, employees of a business who could even be trying to sabotage the company they work for - if they know they are going out of business soon and lose their jobs.
The only other alternative is new management, a new system with new rules that is going through a lot of adjustment pains at the moment. They could have a new warehouse, or separate place they ship/order our orders from with poor communication between the two.
They could have an attitude too of, "We have so many customers and we can treat them however we want, yet they will come back to us because we are the cheapest place to buy software."
(I can tell you this, Wal-Mart did not become successful because of the lowest prices alone - they did it with customer service).
I think I will go with the going out of business soon theory (from last post) for the reason they are acting the way they are right now towards their customers.
It has been 15 days since I placed my order from Academic Superstore and my software is yet to leave Austin. It has been in stock, back-ordered, payment placed on hold, being processed for shipping, ready to ship, etc...
I have called them 3 times, talked to 3 different representatives, emailed them 4 times, faxed once to check the status of my order and see where my order was at.
I tried to cancel the order Friday. I was able to cancel half of it. The other software I was told is getting ready to be shipped. I will believe it when I see it.
The one good thing, through all of this, is that my debit card has not been charged (so far).
Let me add my two cents worth. I have ordered a number of pieces of software from them over the years. It seems that lately, their service is really going down hill. It crosses my mind that their behavior is consistent with a company that is going out of business.
So last week I ordered software from them. They had a problem verifying my eligibility even though according to their records it had been previously approved. E-mail to them fixed that. Then I find out that the software is on back order. Ouch! Never would have ordered it if I had know it was back ordered.
This morning, I received e-mail that my order had shipped. When I checked its status with UPS to confirm its delivery date, the tracking number related to a delivery in August, 2008! Haven't heard back yet from the e-mail I sent to them today.
My recommendation: stay away from them. Probably won't be in business much longer.
Myself, also have had a negative experience with the company, trying to place a recent order and it will be next week before I receive it, or the Better Business Bureau of Austin will get a call from me and classmates will be discouraged from ordering through Academic Superstore. Service is just very, very slow and they do not respond to emails or faxes.
I had the long wait on the phone like everybody else seems to have had, then I had a long wait for approval of my proof of tuition because my receipt had to be separately attached to, instead of within, the body of my email. The least they could have done was have the courteousy to email or call me back to let me know they couldn't accept it. But no one ever contacted me back.
And now, checking the status of my order, it appears they have put a payment hold and somewhere else on line I read they put a 7 day hold before they ship the software. I find this outrageous. Never do I get a payment hold from a business for a transaction, especially for just a couple pieces of software under $500. If the cost were in the four digit range I would understand a payment hold but for what I'm paying. Sorry. Unacceptable. My bank doesn't even put a 7 day hold on anything.
Bottom line, if you are in a hurry to get software don't order from them. There are other places to get discounted software, along with amazon.com, ebay, craigslist, or check with your local university bookstore.
Wow, what a change in this company!
I have been a loyal customer for years, but the change since January 1st 2009 is nuts!
I've called 4 times in the last two weeks trying to find out the status of an order; each time being placed on hold and listening to the same old short comedy clip which I now have memorized. Once I was told my order would ship within 48 hours; twice I was told they would update me with the status by the end of the day (they never did) and once they provided a tracking number which turned out to be for a book only, and not the software that was ordered with it.
I still have not received my order, and the time I have wasted trying to get this for my son would have more than covered the cost of a full license.
I would cancel my order today if I thought it would actually happen! My gut feeling is that after the order is cancelled, they will then ship the order, charge my card, and I will fight forever to get my money back.
It is time f or this company to be shut down! Is there an outside agency that will act as an activist for customers of an online store?
Thank you, I have had the very same experience. I also had the electronic software delivery. Having checked my shipping status I see that it has been backordered for 1-7 days. I am now on the fifth day. This makes no sense to me as it is not a hard copy disk being sent to my home. It is simply a link with license information. The process for submitting eligibility information is confusing. That too took a couple of days for approval. The worst part was trying to call their customer service line where I too was subjected to looping Jerry Seinfeld standup routines that play on a loop. After about 20 minutes of waiting on hold with this I get a message that they have high call volume and that I should call back later. Then it hung up on me. Is their business so good that they can afford to turn customers away even in a recessionary market like this? I was very disappointed and still have yet to receive my products.